Grey County, Ontario
Grey County | |
Location of Grey County | |
Country | Canada |
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Province | Ontario |
Established | 1852 |
County seat | Owen Sound |
Settlements |
List
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Area [1] | |
- Total | 1,709 sq mi (4,426 km²) |
Population (2006)[1] | |
- Total | 83,378 |
- Density | 48.8/sq mi (18.8/km²) |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
- Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
Website: www.greycounty.on.ca |
Grey County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. The population was 89,073 in 2001.
It consists of:
- City of Owen Sound
- Town of The Blue Mountains
- Town of Hanover
- Municipality (Town) of Meaford
- Township of Chatsworth
- Township of Georgian Bluffs
- Municipality (township) of Grey Highlands
- Township of Southgate
- Township of West Grey
Contents |
History
Grey County was created in 1852 with the first settlement in the vicinity of Collingwood or Meaford. Exploring parties arrived from York in 1825 by traveling from Holland Landing and down the Holland River into Lake Simcoe and Shanty Bay. From there they traveled by land to the Nottawasaga River into Georgian Bay and along the thickly wooded shore. In 1837 the village of Sydenham (now called Owen Sound) was surveyed by Chas. Ranking, P.L.S. In 1856 it was incorporated as the Town of Owen Sound with an estimated population of 2,000.
The county was formed in 1852 and was named in honor of Earl Grey. In 1861-1862 the first gravel roads were constructed into Owen Sound at a cost of $300,000. The four roads graveled were The Garafraxa Road running from Fergus to Owen Sound; the Durham Road leading east and west from the village of Durham; the Lake Shore Road from Collingwood to Owen Sound and the Toronto and Sydenham Road leading from Toronto to Owen Sound. Prior to the road building it often took two days to walk up to Owen Sound. (Source: The Orangeville Banner, March 8, 1951)